Google

The 1 Place Google Places Still Shows Outside Reviews

By Justin Seibert| 2 Min Read | August 11, 2011
LinkedInFacebookTwitter
Facebook Places Logo

If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile or have spoken to me ever, you probably know one thing about me: I’m obsessed (cursed?) with the Pirates.

If you know a second thing, it’s how strongly I feel all businesses need to understand how their online reputation can either help them get more business or have money snatched out of their tills.

Last week we updated you on a sea change for how Google now handles outside reviews.  Namely: it no longer lists them on the Places pages themselves.  Google said it’s because of recent feedback; others say it’s to deal with long-standing complaints from review sites like Yelp; others are speculating it’s due to a recent FTC probe into their business practices (including specifically about how it handles 3rd party reviews in Places).

Likely it’s a combination of all three and other reasons.  Ironically about the FTC probe, if Google’s successful with building the community of artists formerly known as Hotpot and continuing to grow reviews, I think they’ll gain a bigger monopoly than if it continued to show reviews from sites like TripAdvisor.

Any way, Google’s stance is that it has taken down third party reviews from Places Pages, which it has done.  You won’t see ratings or reviews on individual Places Pages.

However – outside third party reviews are still appearing in some snippets for Places listings within Maps results.  Here’s one example of what is clearly identified as an InsiderPages review:

It appears (I’ve done a little digging, but wouldn’t call the research exhaustive by any stretch) that this is happening when Google Places previously displayed a review from an outside source and there are no current Google account reviews.

I can see how that would happen from a technical standpoint, but just think it’s kind of weird – or an oversight – that you’re seeing that information in the snippets.

As a business owner, you need to be aware these 3rd party reviews could still be haunting or helping you in this way.  However, you’ve already been focusing on increasing reviews on Google Places, so it shouldn’t be affecting you, right?


justin-seibert-headshot

Written by Justin Seibert

Justin Seibert is the President of Direct Online Marketing. Justin holds a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University. He contributes a wide range of online business-oriented topics, including the subject of exporting. His contributions can be found on publications such as the Pittsburgh Business Times, AdAge, SES Magazine, and La Voz del interior. Justin and his family enjoy learning about new cultures during their travels.

View Justin Seibert's Full Bio

Related Articles

All Blogs
By Jason Ohsie| 14 Min Read | April 21, 2023

19 Popular GA4 Questions (With The Right Answers From Our Expert Analysts)

Do you have questions about Google Analytics 4, the latest version of the site measurement…

Read Article right arrow
Free Looker Studio Report Templates
By DOM Team| 3 Min Read | January 30, 2023

Grab These Free Looker Studio Report Templates (Updated for 2023)

Below you will find 4 free Looker Studio templates you can use to get started…

Read Article right arrow
Set Up Subdomain Tracking (Without Going Insane) - Updated For GA4
By DOM Team| 13 Min Read | November 7, 2022

How to Track Users Across Subdomains (Updated For GA4)

Looking for information regarding subdomain tracking for monitoring users across your entire platform in Google…

Read Article right arrow